Tell the Vatican: Get Tough With Child Molesters!

By now, we know that too many Catholic children have been abused by priests. So why do those priests so often keep their comfortable positions within the church while the children grow up damaged and with no justice served?

The United Nations has issued a stern statement to the Vatican: Quit protecting child molesters at the expense of children. A UN report says that the church's victims number in the tens of thousands, and that the Vatican has not admitted the full extent of the problem. The report calls specifically for an "independent mechanism" for investigating complaints and for offending priests to be thrown out of the priesthood, not just relocated at the Catholic Church is famous for doing.

Tell the Vatican that the United Nations is right! The Vatican needs to get tough on child abuse.

We the undersigned believe the Catholic Church has failed to own up to the damage done by corrupt priests, specifically those who molest children.

A United Nations report now says that tens of thousands of children have been the victims of unscrupulous religious leaders--the very people most trusted by their communities. Too often, the church has covered up charges of abuse, relocating and excusing priests who have committed atrocities and leaving their victims with a haunting lack of vindication.

You should carefully listen to the United Nations and act on its recent recommendations. Implement independent, third-party investigations and remove criminals from the priestly ranks.